Junko Okamoto (b. 1972, Kanagawa, Japan) is an artist whose practice explores the relationship between materiality and the accumulation of time. Drawing inspiration from the aged textures of ruins and antique objects, she investigates how the passage of time manifests within physical surfaces.
Okamoto employs a distinctive technique of layering plaster and repeatedly soaking the surface with dyes, embedding temporal strata into the work. The resulting materiality—marked by cracks, stains, and erosion—evokes a strong physical presence. In her pencil works, she builds up surfaces through cycles of drawing and erasing, creating a unique balance of delicacy and intensity through accumulated traces.
Her works exist between abstraction and representation, suggesting landscapes and structures shaped by processes of weathering and decay. Quiet yet powerful, they attempt to visualize the invisible dimension of time and the memory embedded within matter.
In 2017, she was selected for the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition (London). In 2024, she held a solo exhibition “Space-Time” at SHIKISAISHA. She continues to present her work actively, with a new solo exhibition scheduled at SHIKISAISHA in May 2026.






